delivered more than
100 babies. A trained
lactation consultant
since 1996, Reynolds
also helps new mothers
with breastfeeding.
She’s the first to
admit she absolutely
loves babies.
“Since I was a very
young girl, I’ve felt it
was my calling to be
a mother and then a
midwife. When everyone else’s Barbies
were dating, mine were
having babies,” smiles
Reynolds, who’s had six
children, the last two
born at home with a
midwife.
“I feel women are
much more open to
midwifery now,” says
Reynolds. “There was a
movement in the 1970s
that kind of fizzled out,
but now there’s a huge movement toward midwives
that started about five years ago.”
For women who don’t wish to give birth in
a hospital but aren’t totally comfortable with
doing so at home, another option is the Ocala
Birth Center, which Reynolds opened last June. It
became a Florida licensed birth center in March
2013. With a home birth, Reynolds brings all of
her equipment to the mother’s residence, while the
birth center offers a home-like setting with all the
necessary equipment in place.
Reynolds maintains a relationship with a local
physician for consultation, but she’s found it’s
not usually necessary to transfer a mother to the
hospital. In the case of a true emergency—or if the
mother simply chooses—she can quickly be taken
to Munroe Regional Medical Center, which is mere
minutes from the Ocala Birth Center.
“Childbirth is a natural biological function,
not an illness or disease,” Reynolds observes.
“I’m glad for the training I have, and I’m all for

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interventions when necessary for safety, but birth
can be very natural and safe.”
Roughly 25 percent of Reynolds’ mothers opt
for a “water birth,” in which the latter stages of
labor—and even the birth, if desired—take place
in a shallow pool of warm water between 95 to
100 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Many women use it for pain relief,” notes
Reynolds. “We refer to it as an ‘aquadural’ instead
of an epidural because the pool helps them get
through labor with less pain. If they stay in the
pool and deliver there, it’s a smooth transition
for the baby, who has been living in a fluid
environment for nine months.”
In a water birth, the midwife typically lifts
the baby out of the water within 10 seconds
or less of delivery and places the newborn on
his/her mother’s chest with the umbilical cord
still attached.

NOT FOR EVERYONE

Not every mother-to-be fits seamlessly into the
midwifery model. If a first-time mother in her
early 40s approached a midwife practice, she’d
probably be referred to an OB/GYN physician,
simply because having a first child at that age
raises the chance of complications.
Using a midwife is best for healthy mothers
who have low risk pregnancies.
“The state of Florida requires each woman go
through a screening process to make sure she’s
in a low-risk category before using a midwife,”
explains Reynolds.
“My husband, James, and I watched the
documentary The Business of Being Born, and that
really opened our eyes to the thought that home
birth was possible,” says Melissa Auten, whose
first child, Miles, was delivered at home on March
8 by Reynolds.
“I didn’t want to go to the hospital; I just
wanted a more natural experience without all the
medications and to have more control over our
labor and birth,” she adds. “It was wonderful;
we couldn’t have asked for a better midwife or
experience. I would do home birth with another
baby. If a woman is healthy and low risk, home
birth is an option.”